Flat Island is, in a word, flat. Being off the coast of Oahu - the Hawaiian island known for its soaring mountains and surrounding peaked islets - Flat Island is a geographical anomaly for our kayak tour group.

Most of the Hawaiian islands are the result of violent volcanic eruptions creating jagged land masses.

But Flat Island is an earthquake afterthought of coral pushed up from the ocean floor to lay parallel to the water and fossilize.

It's an anomaly we're more than willing to check out because it means we also get to hang out on Kailua Beach, the place made famous because Hawaiian-born U.S. President Barack Obama likes to frolic there with the family when they take a break from Washington.

It doesn't hurt that the Travel Channel also ranked Kailua one of the top five beaches in the world.

Sure, nearby Waikiki Beach has instant name recognition and the skyscrapers of Honolulu soaring in the background.

But Kailua's sand is thicker, softer and whiter and it's uncrowded expect for locals in the know and savvy tour operators - in this case Adventures by Disney - who introduce tourists to the long perfect crescent.

Alas, our time on Kailua is fleeting, after all, we're here to kayak.

Flat Island doesn't exactly loom in the distance because it is, by name and nature, as flat as a pancake and only about a kilometre off shore.

So we strike out in our double kayaks anticipating we'll be there in no time.

However, there's the wave and current and erratic paddling from kayak partners to contend with.

Twenty minutes in our group looks like an unorganized armada of low-lying yellow vessels going nowhere in particular.

Assembled as much as can be in the middle of the water, the group is given a pep talk and refocuses on reaching land.

We eventually pull up one by one on the small beach of Flat Island and immediately get why this place is special.

Only a couple of hundred metres long and half as wide it's covered by a blanket of succulent grass and its only inhabitants are hundreds of nesting shearwater birds.

They're what you call "ecologically naive" because they have no predators and show no fear of anything.

So they sit there and preen while we take pictures and the fuzzy chicks stare unprotected by their parents while continuing to enjoy the sunshine.

It's so idyllic that we hardly believe the story that the island's Hawaiian name is Popoia, which loosely translated to English means stinking rotten fish.

Apparently hundreds of years ago incoming fishermen piled a portion of their daily catch on the middle of the island as a gratitude offering for the gods.

It created quite the putrid waft not only for the fishermen, but the general populace just downwind on beautiful Kailua Beach.

Thankfully the ritual faded out. The kayak back to Kailua Beach is much easier and takes half the time thanks to the waves and current- and some much-needed paddle experience - working in our favour.

The hour by shuttle bus to Kailua to kayak is the only time our group leaves Disney's new Aulani Resort where we're staying.

If you're lucky enough to be bunked down at Aulani there's little reason to venture too far.

The 8.5-hectare, 1,066-room resort has incorporated everything that is unique about Hawaii and added a touch of subtle Disney magic. Sure Mickey and Minnie show up at the character breakfasts and mingle poolside a couple of times a day, but otherwise this is no over-the-top Disney theme park.

"We're not just in the movie and theme park business, but the guest experience business."

And what a five-star resort experience it is for me, my wife and our nine-year-old daughter. As a family we ride the Volcanic Vertical and Tombstone Curl waterslides; snorkel Rainbow Reef; feed stingrays in the Makai Preserve; get shaved ices at Papalua Station; and standup paddleboard in Kohola Lagoon.

Our daughter also dropped in to fully supervised Aunty's Beach House children's' club and we disappear to the adults-only pool; dine at exclusive waterfront Ama Ama restaurant; have drinks on our room's lanai; and get a massage that mimics the waves of the Pacific Ocean at Laniwai Spa.

The only other time we step off the resort is to stroll two coves over to Lani Kohonua beach, where the giant Hawaiian green sea turtles come in with the tide every morning to swim in the shallows with the tourists.

Among them is a gentle giant we nickname Lucky because he's fortunate to even be alive having only one front flipper.

He's the first to clamour up on the beach for a rest and sunbathe, after all, being one-flippered is tiring.

If You Go

- Disney's Aulani Resort & Spa is located on the ocean in Ko Olina, 30 kilometres west of Honolulu.

- Overnight rates start at $399. Aulani.com. By the way, Aulani in Hawaiian means one who delivers messages from a higher authority.

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